Physics Class
by Ruthie
Summary: What if two of Earth's greatest scientists met when they were just 15?


Title: Physics Class  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Spoilers: 48 Hours  
  
Summary: What if two of Earth's greatest scientists met each other when they were just 15?  
  
Author Notes: Angst, Drama. Please R&R!  
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
~ Physics Class ~  
  
Copyright (c) 2003, Ruth  
  
**********  
  
Samantha Carter took her bag off of her shoulder and placed it on the desk nearest the window - she'd bagged it the first day she'd got back.   
  
The window gave her a view over the school grounds that she seldom used - for this was Physics class. Her favourite subject. This hour was the one that she most looked forwards to every day, when her friends and fellow students despised it.   
  
Unfortunately, she was not seated with her best friends. Emma Tildey and Lisa Brown were over the opposite side of the room by the door, on tables next to each other. In the lesson they would giggle and whisper, passing pieces of paper to each other. Sam could not do this with them any more.  
  
At 15, she'd grown out of the whispering and giggling stage, but she still missed the company of her friends. She missed being able to talk to them, to pass a sly grin when Josh Kirkley walked into the room. Emma and Lisa had had a crush on him since the first grade. He was tall, had jet-black hair that was slicked back with gel, and wore tight jeans, with flared bottoms.   
  
Sam had always felt terribly inadequate around him. She subconsciously adjusted her blouse which was done up to her neck, and looked down at the shoes on her feet. Size 8. None of the other girls were a size 8. They all wore pretty shoes with high heels, took great delight in showing off their bodies with short skirts and skimpy tops. She wore a white cotton blouse, a sensible knee-length skirt and had a black cardigan to go over the top. She grimaced as she saw Josh walking towards her.  
  
"Well, if it isn't geek face herself," Josh smirked, "Y'all get that cardigan from your grandma?"  
  
Sam forced her face into a smile, and clenched her fists beneath the desk.  
  
"Y'all never heard of proper shoes, Brains?" he continued, looking at her feet, "By hell, they're bigger than mine!"  
  
The class around her laughed mockingly. She searched the room for Emma and Lisa, but they had not arrived yet. It was stupid to think that they would, Sam thought, they were always 10 minutes late.  
  
"Hey," he said, grabbing her by the front of her blouse and hauling her up out of her chair, "I'm talkin' to you! You deaf or summat?"  
  
She could smell the cigarettes in his breath and bit back a shudder. She merely glared at him with her startlingly blue eyes, and prized his hand off of her clothes. Before he could do anything more, their teacher walked in.  
  
"Josh! Samantha! Sit down now!" she shouted.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Josh drawled mockingly, walking away and knocking Sam's books to the floor with a deliberate swipe of his hand.  
  
Kneeling down on the floor, she fought against the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. Damn Josh Kirkley, she thought, biting her lip, I wish daddy was at home long enough to give him a smack. I wish mom was still there to go home to...  
  
As she gathered the last book from the floor, she felt a hand on top of hers.   
  
She looked up into the face of another boy - who was seated in front of her.  
  
"Hey," he said, offering her a small smile.  
  
"Hey," she said back, picking up the book. "Thanks."  
  
"No problem," he grinned. He was sure full of himself. "What's your name?"  
  
"Samantha," she mumbled, "What's yours?"  
  
"Rodney," he replied.  
  
"Samantha Carter! You sit down now or you'll be detained at recess!" their teacher hollered.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Sam replied, sitting down again and putting down her books.  
  
"Today," their teacher began, "We will be learning about radiation."  
  
Mrs Gladstone had been their physics teacher for almost five years. She was the strictest of all the science staff, with her black hair pinned back in a tight bun on her head, and green eyes that were like a cat's. She was not the teacher to mess with - but Josh Kirkley always managed to do it.  
  
"Mrs Gladstone?" he asked, waving his long hand in the air, "Can I go to the bathroom?"  
  
She frowned. "Joshua, you've only just got here."  
  
"I know, ma'am," he continued, "You just have this knack for boring the crap outta me!"  
  
The class fell about, and Gladstone blushed with rage and embarrassment.  
  
"Joshua! You go and stand outside - and do not move!" She shouted.  
  
Joshua got up and swaggered to the door, stopping to blow Mrs Gladstone a mocking kiss. She glared at him from beneath her glasses. He opened the door, and shut it with a loud slam behind him.  
  
Mrs Gladstone smiled. "Now, if you will open your textbooks to page 364..."  
  
**********  
  
Ten minutes later, they were assigned a task to create a poster on radioactivity in groups. Emma and Lisa were working together, and everyone had their own partner - leaving her on her own with Rodney whasisname.  
  
"So..." she said, as he turned around in his chair, "You never did tell me what your second name was."  
  
"McKay," he said, "Rodney McKay."  
  
"Ah," Sam nodded, turning her attention back to the title, which she was trying to draw.  
  
Rodney sniggered. "You can't draw nothing!"  
  
Sam glared at him from the paper. "I don't normally bother with titles - I prefer doing the writing!"  
  
"Give me that," he said, taking the pencil out of her hand, "Jeez, girl - what is that?"  
  
Sam folded her arms defensively. "It's an S."  
  
"It looks like a 5!" McKay said, rubbing out the S and re-drawing one in its place. "There."  
  
Sam pouted. "Can I at least do some of the writing now?"  
  
"Sure. Go ahead," he said, putting his elbows on her desk and grinning at her.  
  
She found the grin disconcerting, at least. She frowned, and looked down at the paper. When she looked up again, he was still grinning.  
  
"What exactly are you grinning at?" she asked.  
  
"You," he smiled, "You're pretty."  
  
Sam blushed. "Shut up," she mumbled, and continued to write.  
  
She was halfway through a paragraph when Rodney stopped her.  
  
"Uh uh," he said, "That ain't right."  
  
"It sure is!" she snapped angrily, "I just read it from the damned textbook!"  
  
"It's all wrong!" McKay replied, taking the pencil from her, "It can vary. It depends on the type of reactor..."  
  
"Oh, really?" Sam asked, beginning to get annoyed. Suddenly more people were looking towards them.  
  
"Yeah," McKay snapped, "You're not always right, ya know!"  
  
"What the hell would you know about it?" Sam half-shouted.  
  
"Samantha! Rodney! Outside - NOW!" Mrs Gladstone shouted.  
  
Sam glared at Rodney as she rose from her desk and trudged to the door. She felt a blush rising to her cheeks - she'd never been sent out of class before. Would her dad be ashamed of her? Another terrible thought occurred to her the minute she opened the door - Josh would be outside.  
  
His ugly, acne-covered face split into a grin the minute he saw her.  
  
"Hey, brains!" he shouted, closing the door so that Mrs Gladstone could not hear him, "You get sent out because you only got 9/10?"  
  
She walked a little way away from him and sat down on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.  
  
Rodney sat down a meter away from her, scowling. He'd never been sent out of class before. Before her.  
  
"I'm talking to you!" Josh shouted. "You're a pathetic bitch! Y'all used to be alright last year - but since your mom kicked the bucket you've been really fucked up!"  
  
Sam swallowed. That comment had stung. He had no right to talk about her mother like that...  
  
Rodney looked up. "Your mom died?" he asked. "You never told me nothing."  
  
"That's because you're a stupid freak," Josh smirked, "Just like her! And her momma. Ya know how she died? She was drunk driving, and a lorry drove on into her! Stupid bitch!"  
  
Sam's fists clenched. "It was an accident," she said, "My mom wasn't driving."  
  
"Hell, she wasn't!" Josh laughed, "She was up in cuckoo land!"  
  
Sam stood up, trembling with anger. Her fists clenched, and her knuckled turned white.  
  
"Shut up," she said, "Don't you talk about my mom like that."  
  
"Or what?" Josh laughed, putting his hands on his hips, "You gonna fight me? Ooh, I'm being beaten up by a geek! Ooh, it hurts! What? You little army brat! You don't mean nothing to nobody! 'Specially your dad!"  
  
Sam took a deep breath and made one last effort to ignore him. Rodney gazed at her, interested in the events surrounding him.  
  
"Come on, army brat," Josh repeated softly, "Why don't you show us what you're made of?"  
  
"You're not worth it," Sam growled, taking a step away from him.  
  
"Yeah - I bet that's what your daddy said when your mama died!" Josh countered, "Fancy being left with a lanky, moody son and a good-for-nothing army brat of a daughter! I'm surprised he hasn't killed himself!"  
  
Sam could feel tears beginning to roll down her face.  
  
"My dad loves me," she said defensively, "My mom loves me."  
  
Josh threw back his head and laughed louder. "You geeks are so pathetic! Your mom's DEAD! You're nothing but an ugly, stupid army brat. You've got no friends, no looks -"  
  
Sam had finally had enough. She launched herself at him, fists flying. She had the element of surprise, and was able to knock Josh to the ground. Once there, she pounded his face with all of her might, screaming at him and yelling, tears still falling down her face.  
  
Rodney watched, torn between doing something and watching. There was no doubt that Josh had crossed the line...but man, was she hot when she was angry!  
  
"You...stupid...idiot!" she gasped between tears, slamming her fist into his nose. Blood sprayed from it as he rolled onto his side and coughed.  
  
Rodney stood up and ran over to her, hauling her off of Josh before she could do any more damage to him. He sat down on the floor and held her close to him, watching with glee as blood continued to pour from Josh's nose.  
  
There was now an excited crowd at the windows along the corridor, pointing and grinning.  
  
Mrs Gladstone threw open the door and took in the scene that met her eyes. Josh Kirkley was lying on the floor, his nose broken, blood staining the front of his shirt. Rodney McKay was sitting on the floor, holding Samantha Carter tightly in his arms.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" She shouted.  
  
Rodney held tighter onto Sam. He could feel her crying into his shirt.  
  
"He asked for it," he said quietly.  
  
"I DON'T CARE WHO ASKED FOR IT, RODNEY!" Mrs Gladstone shouted shrilly, "I WANT YOU BOTH OUTSIDE THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE, NOW!"  
  
**********  
  
After their meeting with the principal, Rodney and Sam walked back out into the corridor. She sniffed a little, and cradled her bruised hand to her chest.   
  
Josh's nose had been a lot harder than she'd thought.  
  
"I've never been told off by the principal before," Rodney said, "It's all your fault."  
  
"I've never been sent out of class before," she said, "That's your fault."  
  
They were quiet for a moment, but then Rodney stopped and looked at her. "You were cool back there," he said, "Smacking Josh one. I would have done it myself - but I'm not strong enough."  
  
Sam laughed weakly. "My dad is gonna kill me."  
  
Rodney took her hand in his, and squeezed it. "I'm sorry about your mom, I really am," he said.  
  
Sam squeezed it back. "Thank you," she said, feeling tears welling up in her eyes again.  
  
They walked on until they reached the doors. His hand gently squeezed hers again.  
  
"I still hate you," He said, with a grin.  
  
Sam looked up at him, and smiled. "Me too."  
  
"Idiot."  
  
"Jerk."  
  
Their hands clasped together, they walked out of school, throwing insults all the way to the library - where they would argue over their physics homework.  
  
THE END  
  
Author's Note: Shock! Horror! Yes, I actually made McKay seem human. Hope you enjoyed it - please send FB! 


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